Oct 31, 2010 Record-breaking in the history of the Italian lottery winnings of nearly 178 million euros were drawn late on Saturday in the popular Italian lottery Superenalotto, reports Italian state television. After a nearly nine-month wait, the lucky ones finally managed to guess six numbers out of ninety.

The jackpot goes to not one, but several players who operated within the so-called "system." The exact number of winners in the famous lottery is not yet known. What is clear is that they brought in 70 quotas of 24 euros each, thus making a joint bid of 1680 euros. Now the owner of each of these quotas will receive more than 2,5 million euros.

The largest individual prize in the history of Superenalotto was registered in Italy in 2009. It totaled 148 million euros.

A Briton is the sole winner of the biggest Euromillions jackpot ever

A UK ticket-holder scooped the top prize in Friday night's draw, making it the country's largest ever lottery win.

British national lottery operator Camelot would not confirm where in the UK the winning ticket was bought, but said nobody had yet claimed the prize.

The winner could be an individual or a syndicate.

The winning numbers are 9, 30, 35, 39, 46 with lucky stars 6 and 8.

The overnight millionaire joins the ranks of the rich and famous, with pots of cash to lavish on luxury homes, yachts and cars.

"This is fantastic news - we're absolutely delighted to have such a massive UK win," a Camelot spokeswoman said.

"This is the biggest lottery jackpot prize ever paid out to an individual in this country. We have plenty of champagne on ice."

With a tax-free prize of £113m, the winner's wealth will eclipse the likes of pop stars Barry and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, who are said to be worth £110m, Rod Stewart and David Bowie.

Friday night's winner was the only one of tens of millions of players in nine countries to tick all seven correct numbers - claiming the prize against odds of 76,275,360 to one.

Until Friday night's draw, the largest lottery winner in the UK was an anonymous player, who scooped £84.4m on the EuroMillions draw in May.

Since June last year, some 10 Britons have won EuroMillions jackpots - all adding to a total of £347m.

The EuroMillions lottery, launched in 2004, is now played in Austria, Belgium, Britain, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland.

Monday 17 May 2010 - The winner of Britain's biggest lottery jackpot has come forward to claim the £84.4m (USD103M) prize, the National Lottery operator said today.

The winning amount, which dwarfs the previous record of £56m won by Nigel and Justine Page, from Barnsley, Gloucestershire, in February, was announced after the rollover EuroMillions draw on Friday.

A spokesman for Camelot said that the ticketholder – who may or may or not opt for anonymity – has contacted them but the claim has yet to be validated. "We are looking forward to welcoming the lucky ticketholder to our millionaires club which is already 2,400 strong," he said.

It is not clear if the winner is an individual or a syndicate.

According to the Sunday Times Rich List 2010, the prize would make the winner the 789th richest person in the UK with a larger personal fortune than the likes of former James Bond actor Sir Sean Connery (£80m), the rock legend Jimmy Page (£75m), and comedian and actor Rowan Atkinson (£70m).

Other millionaire winners include Brian Caswell, from Bolton, who won nearly £25m, and the seven-strong Liverpool call centre syndicate that, along with a couple from south Wales, shared £91m between them.

While the prize breaks the British record, it is not the largest international win.

In 2007 two tickets split a $390m (£258m) payout from the Mega Millions lottery in the US, though prize money is taxable.

The Spanish Sorteo Extraordinario de Navidad is said to be the world's biggest lottery but, rather than a single jackpot, it aims for a share-out in which thousands of numbers yield prize money.

Bringing home their takeout dinners after a day of serving on jury duty, Gilbert also bought 10 lottery tickets at L&L Hawaiian Barbecue in Pico Rivera, Calif. Now he and Jacki are digesting the fact that they have won their state's $266 million Mega Millions jackpot, the eighth-largest such jackpot in the game's history, according to the lottery Web site.

Their winning numbers: 9, 21, 31, 36, 43, with the mega number 8. The odds of this happening? One in 175,711,536, claims the lottery site.

And while the two – sitting in the NBCLA studio – were receiving the congratulations of Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira on Thursday's Today show, Jacki was also asked by her NBC colleagues in New York, "Why are you at work?"

"To be on the Today show," replied Jackie matter-of-factly.

'I Just Screamed and Cried'

Tracking how Jacki went from working the graveyard shift to being in a position to purchase the station, NBCLA reports that she was on the job at 2 a.m. Wednesday when the news moved on the wire that the winning lottery ticket was sold at L&L in Pico Rivera – and Jacki's news producer Jeff Evans remembered that she lived in the town.

Waking up her husband Gilbert at home, Jacki demanded he retrieve the tickets from L&L. By the time Gilbert "was reading the fourth and the fifth number … all of a sudden he said, 'I think we won,' " says Jacki. "I just screamed and cried."

Gilbert told her, "It's 2 in the morning … calm down, calm down." But she couldn't. Her legs were shaking so much she thought they'd buckle.

Jacki made Gilbert repeat the numbers again and again, Gilbert recalls, saying, "I told her to stop yelling, we want to be anonymous, I don't want anyone to know – but so much for that."

In fact, the initial Los Angeles Times story on the fantastic win does not carry the winners' names, other than to say she is an NBC employee.

The couple said on Today that they plan to buy a house – "We don't know where. We're like kids in a candy store," said Jacki – and give to their church and alma maters.

Sweetening this happy ending even more, Gilbert had lost his job only recently.

$258.5 Million Powerball Jackpot Won in Missouri

Thursday, April 22, 2010 - One lucky ticket in Missouri (1) matched all 6 numbers in the Wednesday, April 21st drawing and won the $258.5 million jackpot. The holder(s) of the winning ticket will now have to decide to either take the 29-year, 30-installment annuity, or the one time cash “lump sum” amount of $124,875,122.

Other big winners included one ticket in Virginia (1) that matched all 5 white ball numbers and had the Power Play option for a $1 million prize. Thirteen tickets sold in Idaho (1), Indiana (1), Louisiana (2), Maryland (2), Michigan (1), North Dakota (1), New Mexico (1), New York (1), Ohio (1), Pennsylvania (1), and Wisconsin (1) matched all 5 white ball numbers for a $200,000 cash win each. There were a total of 1,923,341 additional winning tickets in America’s Game Wednesday evening. Those winners won prizes totaling $13,702,193.

The numbers drawn were 11, 34, 41, 49, 55 and the Powerball was 20. The Power Play multiplier was 2.

Additional major winners Wednesday included 71 tickets that matched 4 white ball numbers plus the Powerball and won $10,000. Eight additional players not only matched 4+1, but also purchased the Power Play multiplying their prize by 2 for a total win of $20,000!

A total of 264,571 winning Powerball plays were multiplied by 2 Wednesday evening. Winners were able to do so by purchasing the Power Play option for one dollar. With Power Play you can multiply your winnings, except for the jackpot, from 2 to 5 times. At the beginning of each drawing an animated spinner reveals that night’s multiplier.

Players purchased $78,307,244 in Powerball and Power Play tickets between Sunday and Wednesday night.

Gloucestershire couple are £56m EuroMillions winners

Sunday, 14 February 2010 - A couple from Gloucestershire have been confirmed as Britain's biggest lottery winners, scooping a jackpot of £56,008,113 in the EuroMillions game.

National Lottery organisers Camelot said the pair, from near Cirencester, will appear at a news conference in Bath on Monday.

A spokesman said the winners came forward to claim the stake on Saturday.

A total jackpot of £112m had been on offer. The money was split with the other winning ticket, bought in Spain.

It is the fourth time in three months that a British winner has scooped more than £25m in the EuroMillions draw.

The winning numbers on Friday's were were 1, 5, 18, 38, 45, and the Lucky Star numbers were 4 and 6.

Across Europe, the record EuroMillions win is £113m by a single ticket-holder from Spain in May last year.

EuroMillions is played in nine countries - the UK, France, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Irish Republic, Portugal and Switzerland.

Other than EuroMillions, there are a number of other lotteries played in countries around Europe. The record for the biggest win came on the Italian SuperEnalotto, when a ticket-holder banked £128m in August.

$141.4 Million Powerball Jackpot Won in North Carolina

Sunday, February 07, 2010 - (Powerball) One lucky ticket in North Carolina (1) matched all 6 numbers in the Saturday, February 6th drawing and won the $141.4 million jackpot. The holder(s) of the winning ticket will now have to decide to either take the 29-year, 30-installment annuity, or the one time cash "lump sum" amount of $69,682,459.

Other big winners included two tickets in Missouri (1) and North Carolina (1) that matched all 5 white ball numbers and had the Power Play option for a $1 million prize each. Eight tickets sold in Illinois (1), Missouri (2), Nebraska (1), New Jersey (2), Tennessee (1), and Texas (1) matched all 5 white ball numbers for a $200,000 cash win each. There were a total of 1,103,119 additional winning tickets in America's Game Saturday evening. Those winners won prizes totaling $10,262,492.

The numbers drawn were 14, 22, 52, 54, 59 and the Powerball was 4. The Power Play multiplier was 3.

Additional major winners Saturday evening included 41 tickets that matched 4 white ball numbers plus the Powerball and won $10,000. Five additional players not only matched 4+1, but also purchased the Power Play multiplying their prize by 3 for a total win of $30,000!

A total of 183,392 winning Powerball plays were multiplied by 3 Saturday evening. Winners were able to do so by purchasing the Power Play option for one dollar. With Power Play you can multiply your winnings, except for the jackpot, from 2 to 5 times. At the beginning of each drawing an animated wheel is displayed to reveal that night's multiplier.

Players purchased $45,682,287 in Powerball and Power Play tickets between Thursday and Saturday night.

The jackpot for Wednesday, February 10th will be $20 million.

The lotteries sold more than $2.56 billion in Powerball tickets in FY09. That translates into more than $743 million for worthwhile state projects.

Powerball is now played in 41 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Winning Mega Millions $144M lottery ticket sold in Texas

Saturday, January 30, 2010 - Someone won the $144 million Mega Millions lottery drawing Friday night and it was not any of us.

One winning ticket was sold in Texas.

The winning numbers from Friday night's drawing were: 1, 10, 22, 23 and 38. The Mega Ball number was 19.

One person who purchased a Mega Millions ticket in Georgia matched five of five numbers but not the Mega Ball to win $250,000. Two more people who purchased tickets in Georgia matched four of the five numbers but not the Mega Ball to win $10,000.

The Mega Millions drawing Tuesday night will be worth a projected $12 million.

$162 Million Mega Millions Ticket Sold on Long Island

Wednesday, December 23, 2009 - It's going to be a 'Mega' New Year celebration for someone on Long Island.

The one winning ticket from Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing was sold at "Sonny's Cards 'n Things" in Rocky Point.

The jackpot was an estimated $162 million.

The person who bought the ticket chose the 'lump sum' option, meaning they will get their prize money all at once (after taxes, of course), a New York Lottery official said.

The winning numbers were 3 - 33 - 35 - 39 and 45, the "Gold Mega Ball" number was 13.

But the lucky person who came up with those numbers didn't come up with them on his or her own - - they were 'Quick Pick' numbers, chosen randomly by the lotto computer, the official said.

The jackpot climbed to $162 million after 11 straight drawings without a winner.

The largest Mega Millions jackpot was $390 million in 2007. It was split between two winners, one in New Jersey and one in Georgia.

Christmas Eve Miracle Mistake Wins Georgetown Couple $128.6 Million

A Christmas Eve mistake has led to the largest lottery jackpot in Kentucky history being won by a Georgetown couple.

Rob Anderson, his wife Tuesday and a collection of family members came to Kentucky Lottery headquarters in Louisville with their winning ticket, which was a $3 Quick Pick. They have not chosen whether or not to take the lump sum or 30 year annuity. They have 60 days to make that decision.

Christmas Eve day started for 39 year-old Rob just like it did for many people - rushing around to buy last-minute Christmas gifts. "I was on my way to the Wal-Mart on Highway 62 in Georgetown to pick up some presents," said Rob. "I saw the Pro Travel Marathon on my way to Wal-Mart, so I thought I'd swing in and get a couple of lottery tickets as stocking stuffers."

"I needed to get gifts for three people, so I thought I'd get three single $1 Powerball tickets to put in their stockings," Rob continued. "I told the clerk what I wanted, and instead he mistakenly printed one ticket with three lines of numbers that cost $3. I told him it was a mistake, but I decided to just keep the ticket and get the three others I needed."

The clerk printed those tickets, and Rob went on to complete his holiday shopping. When he went home later that evening he threw the $3 ticket on the nightstand in his bedroom, not paying much attention to it as it wasn't what he usually played. "I always pick my own numbers based on important dates, and I buy a $1 Powerball ticket every Wednesday and Saturday," Rob said.

On the Sunday morning after the Powerball drawing of Saturday, December 26th, Rob checked the winning numbers on his DirectTV system and knew they weren't any of the ones he usually picked. That's when he remembered the $3 ticket on his nightstand.

"As I was walking down the hall with the ticket, it seemed like with every step I took I realized I'd matched another number. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. When I finally realized all of the numbers matched, I could only think of one thing to yell to my wife – "Oh damn, I think we've hit the lottery!" Still not believing what he was seeing, Tuesday called her father and asked him to read back the winning Powerball numbers. "Tuesday then told him he'd better get over to our house fast," Rob said.

In the eleven days since the drawing, Rob has taken the time to meet with an attorney to decide how best to move forward. "It's really important to me that we stay grounded through this process. I'd thought in the past about what I'd do if this ever happened to us, but the odds just seemed so long that I never thought it would occur."

Rob said the first few nights after the big win were sleepless, and he'd been taking the rest of the time "day by day. My nerves were shot, and I drank a few beers to help calm me down." The ticket was kept in a safe.

As for the future, Rob says he and Tuesday haven't made any concrete plans but have looked at some pieces of property and a few new vehicles. One thing they've both talked about is their new-found wealth will allow them to go back to school to further their education. "I guess finance might be a good major to have," Rob laughed.

Kansas man claims $97 million Powerball prize

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 - Donald Damon, 70, a lifelong resident of Great Bend, was introduced in a news conference that was held at Lottery headquarters in Topeka. Damon was the sole winner of the $96.6 million Powerball jackpot. He matched all numbers in the November 11th drawing, winning the biggest Powerball jackpot ever won in Kansas! Damon claimed his winnings at the Kansas Lottery's Great Bend office, shortly after realizing he'd become a multi-millionaire.

"Thursday, my daughter Karen told me that someone had won the Powerball jackpot in south central Kansas on Wednesday," said Damon. "She said that she knew she hadn't won on her ticket, so I asked her to check my ticket." When Karen checked the ticket on the Lottery's website it became a life-changing moment. "I told Dad he matched the Powerball number and he jokingly said that he must be the winner," said Karen. "When we realized he did have the winning ticket, we were both shocked." Damon and Karen immediately hopped in the car and drove to the Kansas Lottery's Great Bend office. "I wasn't sure how much I'd won," the winner said. "I figured it was $15 million. When they said it was $96.6 million, I about fell over. I've been saying for years that I was going to win a Powerball jackpot someday."

Once the paperwork was completed at the Great Bend office, Damon called his wife Kathleen at work and told her she should come home. "I work at the Senior Center and we were having our Thanksgiving dinner yesterday," said Kathleen. "I wasn't going to leave until my work was finished." Kathleen not only works at the Senior Center in Great Bend, she also has two other jobs. She works at a beauty salon and at Central Kansas Medical Center. "It will be nice not having to get up at 4 a.m. anymore," said Kathleen.

The winner purchased his lucky $1 Quick Pick ticket at Dillons 51, located at 4107 10th St. in Great Bend. Damon had the choice of taking the annuity option of $96.6 million, which is paid in 30 payments over 29 years; or the cash option of $48.3 million, which is paid in one lump sum. He has decided to take the cash option. Now that he's a multi-millionaire, Damon plans to help a few local churches with a portion of his prize money. He also said he wanted to take his grandson Brendon to Las Vegas for his 21st birthday. Otherwise, he was undecided how he'd spend his winnings.

Two punters crack 100-million-euro lottery jackpot in Britain

Nov 7, 2009 - Two tickets, both from the UK, will share the largest ever lottery prize ever given out in this country after Friday night's 100m euro (£91.1m) EuroMillions jackpot draw.

Each ticket will scoop a little over £45.5m, lottery operator Camelot has confirmed, after matching the two Lucky Star numbers (five and nine) and the five main numbers 11, 19, 34, 43, and 45.

It is still to be confirmed whether the winning tickets are held by individuals rather than syndicates.

However, if either has been bought by a single person then it would break the current winnings record of £35.4m banked by Angela Kelly, from Airth Castle near Falkirk in Scotland, in the same lottery two years ago.

The biggest ever European win was recorded in May this year when a ticket bought in Spain netted 126m euro (£110m).

$200 Millions Mega Millions Winning Numbers Sold in Virginia

Saturday, October 17, 2009 - One lucky person bought a Mega Millions ticket that matched all five numbers plus the Mega Ball to clinch a $200 million jackpot.

Lottery officials say the winning ticket in Friday night's drawing was sold in Virginia.

One player in Georgia matched 5 of 5 numbers but not the Mega Ball, winning $250,000. Five more Georgia ticket buyers won $10,000 for matching 4 of the five numbers but not the Mega Ball.

The winning numbers from Friday night's drawing were: 10, 13, 18, 33 and 51. The Mega Ball number was 43.

Mega Millions numbers are drawn on Tuesdays and Fridays in Atlanta

$189 Million Powerball Winning Ticket Sold in Florida

Sunday, October 04, 2009 - Someone in Florida is now really wealthy.

One of the tickets sold in the state for Saturday night's Powerball game matched all six numbers drawn. The winning numbers were 12-24-48-50-57 and the Powerball was 22. The Power Play is 3.

The player matching all five numbers and the Powerball won the $189 million jackpot. The prize goes to an estimated $20 Million for Wednesday. The exact location where the ticket was purchased is expected to be announced before noon Sunday.

Tickets that match the first five numbers, but miss the Powerball, win $200,000 each, and there were two of those, sold in Arizona and Indiana.

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 - Paris - A French lottery player beat about 40 million other hopefuls, and odds of 1 in 76 million, to win 100 million euros (147.1 million dollars) in a European jackpot, the largest lottery payout ever made in France. The unnamed winner, who hails from France's Mediterranean coast, picked the winning combination of 6, 16, 30, 38 and 41, as well as the bonus numbers of 2 and 4 to win the Euro Millions lottery, reported French broadcaster TF1.

The winner was the only one to pick that combination of numbers. Residents of nine European countries can participate in the lottery.

Although the win sets French records, the European record for a lottery win goes to an unknown Italian who won 147 million euros in August. The world record was set in October 2005, when a US lottery player won 340 million dollars.

2 tickets match winning Mega Millions US$333 Million Dollar numbers

August 29, 2009 - ATLANTA - Two tickets matched the winning numbers for an estimated $333 million Mega Millions jackpot, one sold in New York and the other in California.

The numbers were drawn Friday night in Atlanta.

Georgia Lottery officials had estimated the jackpot for the Friday drawing at $325 million after no one hit the big prize on Tuesday. They said Friday that increased ticket sales had bumped the prize to about $333 million.

The new Mega Millions jackpot is estimated at $12 million for Tuesday's drawing.

Italian Villager Wins Record $210 Million Lottery Jackpot

Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- A resident of the castle-topped Tuscan village of Bagnone won more than 147 million euros ($210.6 million) in Europe's biggest lottery jackpot, and seemed intent on trying to stay unknown.

The winner bought the ticket for 2 euros at a bar in the central Italian town of 2,000, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) northwest of Florence. The lucky inhabitant, who has yet to come forward, can choose to remain anonymous and has 90 days to claim the cash. Local residents popped bottles of sparkling wine at the bar on Aug. 22 to celebrate the fortune of the winner in their midst. That person may be a 47 year-old local man, the ANSA news agency reported yesterday.

"I hope the winner knows how lucky he is and knows how to handle such an event," said the town's mayor, Gianfranco Lazzeroni, in an interview with SkyTG24 television. "This is an opportunity to raise the visibility of this small corner of Italy."

The draw, broadcast live on RAI state television two days ago, showed the winning numbers to be 10-11-27-45-79-88. It was the first time since Jan. 31 that someone had picked the right combination from the 90 possible numbers in play. The odds of selecting the numbers were 622 million to one, Agence France- Presse reported. The jackpot is tax-free.

Lottery fever has been on the rise in Italy, with more than 400 million euros spent on tickets in July and 300 million euros so far in August, according to Sisal SpA, the lottery company.

A 25-year-old Spanish woman in May appears to hold the previous European record. She won a 126 million euro, tax-free prize in the Euro Millions nine-country lottery.

Spain's Christmas lottery known as El Gordo, or the Fat One, is considered the world's largest draw with a total prize pool of more than $2 billion. In that game there are thousands of winning tickets, leading to smaller individual payouts.

Lotto's big winner nets $53.2m on impulse buy

THE Adelaide man who won $53.2 million in Tuesday night's record Oz Lotto draw bought his ticket on the spur of the moment after seeing a lottery sign while driving.

His was one of more than 10 million tickets sold around the country to people hoping to strike it rich.

The man from Adelaide's western suburbs, who wants to remain anonymous, is in his 40s and bought his winning 14-game ticket of numbers randomly chosen by the lottery's computer for $15.05 from Lizzy's Cafe at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Yesterday the cafe was abuzz with hospital staff, patients and visitors laughing and joking about the multi-million-dollar ticket sold under their noses.

Proprietor Lou Sitarenos said the day had been "hectic". "It's created so much interest nationally," he said, as television camera crews filmed around the cafe. "It's not something that happens all the time."

The man shared the $106.5m first division prize pool with a Gold Coast couple who were playing Oz Lotto for the first time, after entering other lotteries in the past.

Queensland's Golden Casket Lottery spokeswoman Karen Anning said it was "business as usual" yesterday for the couple, who also wish to remain anonymous.

"They are going back to work," she said.

Ms Anning said the couple were pondering what to do with their money but would help their family and donate to charity.

The couple bought the ticket from the Lucky Mermaid newsagency on the border of the Gold Coast's rich and more modest suburbs. Mal Neilson, whose wife and daughter run the store, said they had been "extremely busy" on Tuesday selling tickets in the lead-up to the draw and had no idea who the winners were.

SA Lotteries spokeswoman Rebekah Payne said her state's winner had decided to enter the draw while driving past the hospital cafe.

The South Australian winner told SA Lotteries he watched the draw, matched three numbers and "the other four numbers just fell into place".

"I couldn't move, I couldn't react, I couldn't do anything but sit there and stare at my ticket," he said.

The man was called by SA Lotteries after the draw and he asked what he had won. When told he would receive $53.2m, he said: "OK, now I'm sitting down -- you just blew my mind."

The man said he had no idea what to do with his winnings, but would share the prize with family and charities.

Lottery hopefuls had a one in 45 million chance of winning the first division.

$232M lottery ticket sold to winner in Winner, SD

May 29, 2009 - It's been 100 years since this South Dakota ranch town lived up to its name, but it has done so in a big way for whoever bought a Powerball ticket worth $232.1 million.

Word spread quickly that the winning ticket had been sold this community of about 3,000 people.

Friends and neighbors greeted each other Thursday with one question: Who won?

"How often does something like this happen — a winner in Winner, S.D.?" said Norm Lingle, executive director of the South Dakota Lottery.

The city is so named because it was the "winner" in a bid to establish a town along the railroad right-of-way when the Chicago North Western began to move west from Dallas, S.D., according to the city's Web site. That was back in 1909.

Until today, Winner has been primarily known for its pheasant hunting season which draws thousands of hunters from around the world every fall.

The apparent winner contacted state lottery officials late Thursday afternoon.

"The person provided details that only the winner would know, so we're reasonably certain it was the real deal," Lingle said.

The winner's identity won't be disclosed until the ticket is validated and the prize is officially claimed, he said.

The winner has 180 days to reveal his or her identity and is encouraged to sign the ticket and hire a good lawyer first.

"There's certainly no hurry to come in and claim the prize. This is certainly a life-changing, life-altering experience and they need to seek professional advice," Lingle said.

Dick O'Bryan, a farmer and real estate agent, said such a large amount of money could be good for the town.

"It's great to have it come into the town. It (might) just as well be here as somewhere else," he told a reporter outside the Tripp County Courthouse.

"The only bad part about it is my name isn't on it."

O'Bryan said that when he went to coffee Thursday morning, "everybody was trying to figure out who it is."

Bobbie Voegeli, who works for a Winner radio station, said she hopes a local resident bought the winning ticket. "I'm hoping it's someone who's deserving," she said.

A 25-year-old Spanish woman who won a record $225 million in the Euro Millions lottery only learned of her good luck days later after spending the weekend bed-ridden with the flu, officials say.

The unnamed woman from the island of Majorca discovered that she had won the jackpot when lottery officials finally tracked her down on Monday, three days after the winning numbers were announced, online lottery seller Serviapuestas said in a statement.

"I was still sick on Monday so I decided to go to work out of fear of losing my job given the economic crisis we are going through," she was quoted as saying in the statement.

The woman was the only one to tick the five correct numbers (4, 23, 24, 29, 31) and two stars (8, 9) and win the huge jackpot drawn in Paris in a ticket which she bought through Serviapuestas.

"When she learned the news she was frightened and at the same time very, very moved.

"Logically she asked us many questions," the company said in the statement.

She also told Serviapuestas that when they first contacted her "I thought they were pulling my leg ... I thought it was some publicity."

The woman said she now plans to buy a country house in Majorca and raise horses.

"I have always liked animals, nature, sensitive things..," she said.

The jackpot of 126,231,764 euros ($A225,019,143) is enough to buy two Airbus A-320 jets.

The previous record in the lottery, run by nine European countries, had been held since July 2005 by Dolores McNamara of Gallyowen near Limerick in southwest Ireland who took home $205.8 million.

Friday's winner beat odds of 76 million to one to win the equivalent of four years' salary by David Beckham, the world's best paid footballer.

Euro Millions, which recently celebrated its fifth anniversary, brings together France, Britain, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Austria. The jackpot begins at 15 million euros ($A26.7 million) each week but is rolled over if there is no winner.
The world record for a game of chance is $510 million split by two winners of the super jackpot in the American Mega Millions lottery in March 2007.

3 lottery players share $225M Mega Millions jackpot

May. 2, 2009 - Three players, in California, Ohio and Virginia, will share the $225 million jackpot from the latest Mega Millions multi-state lottery drawing, taking about $75 million apiece.

The next Mega Millions drawing, Tuesday night, will feature a jackpot of $12 million.

In addition to the grand prize winners from Friday night's drawing, 21 players, won second prizes of $250,000 apiece: 2 from California, 4 from Illinois, 1 from Maryland, 3 from New Jersey, 9 from New York, and 2 from Texas. The second-prize winners matched all 5 regular lotto numbers from the draw, but not the Mega Ball number.

Unlike the winners in the other eleven states, the two California second-prize winners will receive $286,354 each. The discrepancy in the prize amount is due to California's pari-mutuel prize system that awards prizes based on the actual sales and number of winners. The other Mega Millions states use fixed prize amounts for all non-jackpot prizes.

Another 96 players won third prizes of $10,000 apiece by matching 4 of the first 5 numbers plus the Mega Ball number. 15 of those winners were from California and will receive $10,412 instead of the fixed $10,000 prize awarded in the other eleven states.

The winning numbers draw Friday night were 9, 16, 24, 40, and 43, and the Mega Ball was 35.

The Texas Megaplier was 4.

Powerball Jackpot Climbs to $143 Million & is Won!

Sunday, April 05, 2009 -
(Powerball) The jackpot in America's favorite lottery game that continues to climb higher and higher has been won by a lucky player.

Other prizes won Saturday evening included thirty-three tickets that matched 4 white numbers plus the Powerball and won $10,000. Eleven additional tickets at this prize level were also wisely purchased with the Power Play option that multiplied winnings 3 times to $30,000 cash!

A total of 174,970 winning Powerball tickets multiplied their prizes by 3 Saturday.
Players were able to do that by purchasing the Power Play option for one dollar.
With Power Play you multiply your Powerball winnings from 2 to 5 times, except for the jackpot.
At the beginning of each drawing an animated spinner presents that night's multiplier.

Players should carefully check their tickets after every draw and remember that even if there are no jackpot winners there are always tens of thousands of winners at other prize levels.

Players purchased $36,026,356 in Powerball and Power Play tickets between Thursday and Saturday night.

Powerball is now played in 30 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

1 ticket in NJ wins $212M Mega Millions drawing

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

New Jersey Lottery spokesman Dominick DeMarco says the one winning ticket in Tuesday's Mega Millions $212 million drawing was sold in Ocean County, New Jersey.

DeMarco can't yet say where it was purchased.

The person who holds it stands to earn about $8.1 million a year, before taxes, for the next 26 years as an annuity.

The cash option is worth about $137 million before Uncle Sam's share is extracted.

The largest Mega Millions jackpot of $390 million was March 6, 2007, shared by winners in New Jersey and Georgia.

The game also includes Virginia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Texas, Washington state and California.

Two lucky tickets in Delaware (1) and Pennsylvania (1) matched all 6 numbers Saturday and will split the $174.4 million jackpot. The holders of the winning tickets will now have to decide to either take the 29-year, 30-installment annuity, or the one time cash "lump sum" amount of $93,258,224 divided between the two tickets.

Other big winners included 2 tickets sold in Kentucky (1), and New Hampshire (1) that matched all 5 white ball numbers for a $200,000 cash win each. There were a total of 1,237,203 additional winning tickets in America's Game Saturday evening. Those winners won prizes totaling $10,486,160.

The numbers drawn were 3, 16, 20, 42, 58 and the Powerball was 7. The Power Play multiplier was 5.

Additional major winners Saturday evening included 43 tickets that matched 4 white ball numbers plus the Powerball and won $10,000. Fifteen additional players not only matched 4+1, but also purchased the Power Play option, multiplying their prize by 5 for a total win of $50,000!

A total of 223,942 winning Powerball plays were multiplied by 5 Saturday evening. Winners were able to do so by purchasing the Power Play option for one dollar. With Power Play you can multiply your winnings, except for the jackpot, from 2 to 5 times. At the beginning of each drawing a wheel is spun to select that night's multiplier.

Players purchased $47,686,192 in Powerball and Power Play tickets between Thursday and Saturday night.

The jackpot for Wednesday, March 4th will be $20 million.

The lotteries sold more than $2.56 billion in Powerball tickets in FY08. That translates into more than $743 million for worthwhile state projects.

Powerball is now played in 30 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

LOTTERY £250M JACKPOT - AND IT COULD BE YOU!

2nd February 2009 - By Gemma Wheatley

BRITAIN'S national lottery is set to go global with a new game with weekly mega-jackpots of £250million.

The move follows a deal between Camelot and operators in America to offer the amazing prize.

And it means it really could be you - with the draw set to be up and running within two years.

Camelot is understood to have signed an "exploratory agreement" with the firm behind the hugely successful Powerball game that combines 32 lotteries across American states and in 2006 paid out £210m.

Camelot now plans to bring the idea to Britain so we can play with countries round the world creating a global game even bigger than the Euro Millions draw.

A lottery insider said: "Powerball is the only thing that comes anywhere near challenging Euro Millions. So by combining the two, the sky's the limit."

Tickets are likely to be more than the Euro Millions £1.50. Proceeds will stay in the countries where tickets are sold and be paid to their good causes.

Camelot is also considering an annual world draw, with a possible £1 billion prize.

A spokesman for the national lottery said: "Discussions with potential partners around the world are continuing at a pace."

Ohio player wins $207 million Mega Millions jackpot

PIQUA, Ohio Friday 12th December 2008 - A western Ohio mayor says a group of city employees who pooled their money bought the single winning ticket worth $207 million in the latest drawing of the multistate Mega Millions lottery.

The only ticket to match all the winning numbers from Friday night's drawing was sold at a Kroger supermarket in Piqua (PIHK'-wuh).

Mayor Thomas Hudson says the winners are a dozen city employees. But he has declined to name them.

The winning numbers from Friday night's drawing were: 10, 16, 19, 27 and 48. The Mega Ball number was 25.

Twenty-three players won the second prize of $250,000. Another 113 players won the third prize of $10,000.

The next Mega Millions drawing will be on Tuesday night with a jackpot of $12 million.

Joy as poor Italian town wins 100 million euro lottery

ROME (AFP) - Inhabitants of a deprived Sicilian suburb sang and danced through the night outside a cafe where the winning ticket for a 100 million euro (128 million dollars) lottery was bought.

Hundreds of residents in the working-class suburb gathered outside the cafe as the local mayor urged the winner to spread some of the record 100,756,197 euro prize money to the community.

"I am delighted for Catania and I hope this is a good sign for the town," said Mayor Raffaele Stancanelli.

"I also hope the ticket was bought by many people... and whoever won will feel a moral obligation to do something for the local community," he added.

Catania, a large port in eastern Sicily, has more than one million residents and is one of Italy's poorest cities.

Rockmart man claims $42 million Mega Millions lottery prize

A software engineer from Rockmart won $42 million this week after matching all six numbers in Tuesday night's Mega Millions lottery, lottery officials said. Rockmart is in Polk County west of Atlanta.

Staffa received a ceremonial check for $42 million during a Wednesday afternoon press conference at lottery headquarters in downtown Atlanta.

According to lottery officials, Staffa wants to help his parents retire, and plans to travel the world, especially Europe.

Staffa matched the winning numbers - 16, 19, 39, 42 and 44, and the Mega Ball of 38 - on a "Quik Pik" ticket that he bought at Scott's Market in Dallas in Paulding County.

$206.9 Million Powerball Jackpot Won in New Mexico!

POWERBALL, Sep 28, 2008 - One lucky ticket in New Mexico matched all 6 numbers Saturday and walked away with the $206.9 million jackpot. The holder of the winning ticket will now have to decide to either take the 29-year, 30-installment annuity, or the one time cash "lump sum" amount of $102,903,652.

There were a total of 1,192,531 additional winning tickets in America's Game Saturday evening. Those winners won prizes totaling $14,196,973.

The numbers drawn were 13, 24, 29, 40, 52 and the Powerball was 29. The Power Play multiplier was 4.

Fifteen tickets correctly matched the 5 white numbers and won $200,000. These tickets were sold in Arizona (1), Colorado (1), Connecticut (1), Iowa (1), Idaho (1), Kentucky (1), Louisiana (1), Missouri (1), North Carolina (3), New Mexico (1), Pennsylvania (2), and Tennessee (1). Three other tickets at this prize level sold in Indiana (1) and Pennsylvania (2), also had the Power Play and multiplied their winnings by four for a total of $800,000 cash each.

Fifty-eight tickets matched 4 white numbers plus the Powerball and won $10,000. Thirteen additional players not only matched 4+1, but also purchased the Power Play option, multiplying their prize by 4 for a total win of $40,000!

A total of 170,885 winning Powerball plays were multiplied by 4 Saturday evening. Winners were able to do so by purchasing the Power Play option for one dollar. With Power Play you can multiply your winnings, except for the jackpot, from 2 to 5 times. At the beginning of each drawing a wheel is spun to select that night's multiplier.

Players purchased $51,299,454 in Powerball and Power Play tickets between Thursday and Saturday night.

The jackpot for Wednesday, October 1st will be $15 million.

The lotteries sold more than $2.56 billion in Powerball tickets in FY08. That translates into more than $743 million for worthwhile state projects.

Powerball is now played in 29 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

US$42.5 Million Dollar Powerball Ticket won by Lancaster Family

MIDDLETOWN - Barrie Edwards of Willow Street did not buy the Aug. 2 Powerball ticket that earned him over $42 million - he received the promotional ticket for free when he purchased two Pennsylvania Lottery Match 6 tickets. Now, Edwards and his wife are sharing their good fortune with a dozen relatives.

Secretary of Revenue Tom Wolf and Lottery Executive Director Ed Trees today presented a ceremonial check for $42,529,765.37, less 25 percent federal withholding, to 14 members of the Edwards and Funk families of Lancaster County, holders of the single jackpot-winning ticket from the Aug. 2 Powerball drawing.

The families' jackpot-winning ticket matched all five white balls, 02-05-28-33-54, and the red Powerball, 30, to win the jackpot, which grew over nine drawings to an annuity value of $86.3 million. The $42.5 million cash prize won by the Edwards and Funks is the 10th largest prize awarded in Pennsylvania Lottery history.

"The Edwards and Funk families weren't the only winners in the Aug. 2 Powerball drawing," said Wolf. "Pennsylvania's older residents benefit from programs funded by Lottery proceeds, and the Aug. 2 jackpot generated more than $6.2 million for those programs."

Barrie Edwards watched the televised Powerball drawing to learn he held the jackpot-winning ticket. He immediately ran to share the news with his wife, Jean, who had gone to bed.

Shortly after the drawing, the Edwards called Terry and Linda Edwards, Barrie's brother and sister-in-law, to inform them of the jackpot win.

Barrie and Terry Edwards and family members have purchased Lottery tickets for years, and long ago they made a verbal agreement that if one of them won a large jackpot, the prize would be split among family members, all of whom are natives or long-time residents of Lancaster County.

The family members to share in the jackpot prize are as follows: Barrie and Jean Edwards of Willow Street, Lancaster County will receive $17,064,882.50; Terry and Linda Edwards of Willow Street, Lancaster County will receive $17,064,882.50; Robert and Elaine Funk of Mountville, Lancaster County will receive $1.4 million; Jeffrey and Donna Funk of Mountville, Lancaster County will receive $1.4 million; Melanie Funk of Lancaster will receive $1.4 million; Gerald and Lynn Hess of Davidson, North Carolina will receive $1.4 million; K. Scott Edwards of Lusby, Maryland will receive 1.4 million; and Ronald and Yvonne Edwards of Washington Boro, Lancaster County will receive $1.4 million.

The jackpot-winning Powerball ticket was a $1 quick-pick generated free in conjunction with a Lottery promotion. Barrie Edwards purchased two Match 6 tickets to receive his free Powerball ticket at the Turkey Hill store on Willow Street Pike in Willow Street, Lancaster County. Turkey Hill received a $100,000 bonus for selling the winning jackpot ticket.

On behalf of the group, Jean Edwards presented the winning ticket for validation yesterday at Lottery headquarters in Middletown after consulting with legal and financial counsel. After examining the ticket and executing propriety security measures, Lottery officials confirmed that it was the jackpot-winning ticket from the Aug. 2 Powerball drawing.

The Edwards and Funk families are the 10th Pennsylvania Lottery Powerball winners since Pennsylvania joined the multi-jurisdictional game in June 2002. Powerball tickets are sold in 31 participating jurisdictions - 29 states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands.

Four workmates share $58.7 mil record Powerball prize

Four friends who work together in Melbourne's north eastern suburbs have claimed the $58.7 million
record Australian lottery prize from last night's june 2008 Powerball draw in.

Yesterday, the four of them who became Tattersall's latest millionaires were having coffee together when they suddenly decided to buy a ticket in the jackpot draw.

"It was a spur of the moment thing," the syndicate organiser said

He said that he did not think about it this morning, but he heard it mentioned on the radio with people speculating places like Bendigo and Frankston, then he heard Reservoir where he submitted the entry, so he bought a newspaper to check numbers and went into a Tattersall's lottery outlet to make sure.

"Although we don't know yet what we are going to do with all this money, we are not going to be silly about it," he said

"Two of us are single and two are married.

"I think we'll invest most of the money and we'll help some charities.

"I have always thought I would win a Lotto prize one day and I wanted it to be a really big prize.

"Last night I went outside and saw the stars and said, 'I hope we win tonight'.

"Then facing east I looked at the sky and saw what looked like the Milky Way and I thought that might be luck," he said.

Their winning 50 game Quick Pick entry was submitted at the Lakeside Newsagency in Reservoir.

"In this jackpot draw, not only did one entry win the Division One prize pool, but the owners of more than 1.3 million entries also won prizes from $75,212.60 down to $11.20.

Young Player from South Carolina Claims $35.3 Million Powerball Jackpot!

The winner from the Saturday, May 17, 2008 drawing has come forward and claimed the $35.3 million jackpot.

Jonathan Vargas, of Gaston, SC, claimed his Powerball® prize at the Columbia Claims Center with his mother,
Patricia Richardson, and step-father, Anthony Richardson.

The 19-year-old millionaire has plans to share his prize with his very proud family and invest the money.

Minnesota Man Wins $180 Million Powerball Jackpot!

A Waseca man claimed the $180.1 million Powerball jackpot from the Saturday, May 3rd drawing - the largest Powerball jackpot ever won in Minnesota. "It's just really amazing," said Paul Rosenau speaking from the Minnesota Lottery's headquarters in Roseville with his wife, Sue.

The couple discovered their win May 4, the night after the drawing, while watching the 10 p.m. news. "We were in our jammies and ready to go to bed," Paul recalled. But after realizing that the numbers on their single line quick-pick ticket matched the winning Powerball numbers on the screen, their plans quickly changed. The couple went to Sue's place of employment to use the computer to double check their ticket. The numbers on the ticket matched all five winning numbers drawn plus the Powerball number.

Still in disbelief, Paul had to double check the winning numbers again in the newspaper the next morning. "He was thinking that the numbers were going to change overnight," joked Sue. "I was checking the paper for an hour," Paul added. "I was soaking wet just from the nerves." "It's something you just never think will happen," Sue continued. The Rosenaus have elected to take the $88 million cash option ($59.6 million after tax withholding). The couple, both 54, say they have no plans to retire any time soon. Paul is employed as a heavy equipment operator for BCM Grading and Excavating Company in Faribault, a subsidiary of Met-Con Companies, Inc. Sue works as a project and communications assistant for Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI) in Waseca.

Visiting Player Wins $200,000 Powerball Prize

While Zachary James Smith of Castle Rock, Colo. and his wife, Mandy, were in town enjoying the French Quarter Festival in New Orleans, they decided to purchase a Louisiana Lottery Powerball ticket.

The trip was made even more memorable when Smith's ticket matched five of the numbers drawn on April 12 to win $200,000. "It feels great to win," Smith exclaimed after claiming his prize at the Lottery's New Orleans office. "I'm a little overwhelmed."

Smith, age 32, purchased his winning ticket at the French Quarter Festival from the owners of Jefferson Spur, a Lottery retailer located in Jefferson. A long time sponsor of the French Quarter Festival, the Lottery recruits a local retailer to work the festival and sell tickets from its booth.

Oklahoma Lottery Pool Claims $200,000 Powerball Prize!

Employees from Woodward Plumbing & Electric and Dean's Barber Shop from the Woodward area won $200,000 on April 19 playing Powerball. The winning ticket was sold at Hutch's in Woodward.

The winners include Gary Bates, William Smith, Ralph Moore, James Marston, Elton McDonald and John Hazelbaker.

The group has been playing the Lottery since its launch and they play more often when the jackpots are high. They buy their tickets at several locations and use easy pick to select their numbers. The pool plans to continue playing individually as well as a group.

Eight West Virginia Co-Workers Claim $276 Million Jackpot!

After three sleepless nights, eight co-workers in the Monongalia County Tax Office have claimed the $139 million cash option from the $276 million Powerball drawing held March 15. The "Easy Pick" ticket was purchased at Paula's in Westover. Claiming the prize on behalf of her seven co-workers, Linda Fominko, who will celebrate her 53rd birthday in April, said she had called everyone by 3 AM Sunday morning immediately following the draw. "I stayed up to watch for the numbers and check our tickets. By the time I made the calls, I had moved from disbelief to stunned, but everyone else was stuck in disbelief with questions like, 'Are you sure? Did you look at it right? Do you know what you're doing?'"

Fominko said various employees in her office often go together to buy Powerball tickets after the jackpot passes $200 million. "This time around I bought 40 tickets, 30 at Paula's and the remainder near a grocery store I frequent." In addition to Fominko, who has worked for the tax office 35 years, the winners include Amanda Pugh, who has worked in the office three years; Paula Pride, a 31-year employee; Andrea Grey, a one-year employee; Jessica Dotson, who worked three years part-time and moved to full time three months ago; Judith Gapen, a 14-year employee; Crystal Magrow, who has worked in the tax office nearly 16 years; and Allecia Priore, a 10-year employee.

Fominko said that among the winners are several who have faced serious family illness; another is caring for a sister who is mentally and physically handicapped. Opting not to disclose the communities in which each winner lives, Fominko said that excepting one employee from Fairmont , the remainder of the winners lives in Monongalia County. Fominko said they all plan to continue working. "I guess that could change, but that's what I've heard so far. As for purchases, we've not had much time to talk. Most everyone is taking care of families."

Truck Driver Has Route Like No Other; Wins $200,000 Powerball Prize!

When Bertha Phillips left with her truck to deliver a load to Lexington, KY a few days ago, little did she imagine she was about to embark on a journey that would cover three states, cause her to travel through ice storms, see her sleep in her truck - and end with her winning a $200,000 Powerball prize!

Phillips is an over-the-road driver for USA Trucking based out of Nashville. As she left with a load bound for Kentucky this past Wednesday (February 20th), she decided to stop for gas at a Pilot Truck Stop in Simpsonville. "I knew they weren't on my approved list of vendors, but I thought I'd stop anyway to see if they would accept my company fuel card," she said. "When I went in they told me they couldn't use my company card for gas, but the manager said the Powerball drawing was in a few hours and while I was there I should pick up some tickets."

She did, and with her $1 quick-pick ticket in her purse, she headed off to Lexington. After leaving her delivery in Lexington, she called the Kentucky Lottery's winning numbers hotline to see what numbers had been drawn for that evening. She wrote them down, but didn't check her ticket. "They sounded familiar, but I didn't think too much of it," Phillips said. On the next morning (Thursday) she checked her numbers, and that's when Phillips discovered her ticket matched all of the white ball numbers but not the Powerball. "I cried and cried and just couldn't believe it," Phillips laughed. Her adventure however was just beginning.

She got in her truck and headed to Kentucky Lottery headquarters in Louisville to cash her ticket. As she was driving to Louisville, an ice storm started to bear down on the area. Schools were closed early, and city officials asked businesses to start letting employees go home at 11:00 in the morning. At noon, lottery headquarters closed due to the impending storm. Phillips pulled her big rig in front of the lottery building at 12:28 PM. "I knocked on the door, and a security guard told me they'd closed because of the storm," she laughed. Phillips still had another load to deliver, so she got back in her truck and headed to Ohio as the storm started to rage and dangerous road conditions developed.

Twelve hours later, at 1:00 in the morning, she was back in Louisville at lottery headquarters. Phillips parked her big rig in front of the building, put some change in the parking meter, turned on her blinkers and climbed in the back of the cab to go to sleep. "I watched some TV and slept with the ticket in my purse under my pillow," she said. As lottery employees started to arrive at work shortly before 8:00, Phillips was at the door, with winning ticket in hand. After a quick celebration, Phillips climbed back behind the wheel of her truck with her big check. "I was supposed to be in Henderson an hour ago with this load," she laughed. She'll have a great story to explain why she was late.

Georgia Couple Win $270 Million Lottery

All those lottery players holding crumpled, worthless Mega Millions tickets can take some consolation: The couple who won the $270 million jackpot on the 22nd of February 2008 are just too nice to resent.

Robert and Tonya Harris matched all five numbers plus the Mega Ball in Friday night's drawing, the only such ticket in the multistate game.

The Georgia Lottery has not yet confirmed a winner because the winning ticket must be presented for verification and the lottery offices are closed until Monday, spokeswoman Tandi Reddick said.

The Harrises held up a pink ticket bearing the winning numbers as they talked to a TV reporter in front of their mobile home Saturday. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution also had a story on the couple Saturday night.

Robert Harris, wearing a pink shirt and dark sunglasses, said he and his wife don't normally play the lottery. But they made an exception this time. For their numbers, they used the birthdays of their grandchildren.

"They're my life," the 47-year-old iron worker told WSAV-TV of Savannah. "Them grandkids are everything I work for - strive for - to make sure they have a good life. And now they're going to have a good life."

Harris said he planned to take the lump-sum option, which would amount to about $164 million before taxes.

By early Saturday, this town of 584 residents located about 50 miles northwest of Savannah was buzzing. The Georgia Lottery had announced that the winning ticket had been sold at a convenience store called Clyde's.

At that time, no one yet knew it was the Harrises. Store manager Billy Hodges could say only that a middle-aged woman had purchased the ticket for her family Friday.

Robert Harris said that at 8:10 a.m. Saturday, one of his daughters called him and said someone in town was holding the winning ticket. The Harrises checked, and one by one the numbers came up right: 7, 12, 13, 19 and 22, plus the Mega Ball of 10.

What are the odds of that? About 1 in 176 million.

Sometime during the family celebration, Robert said he called in to his employer, Quinlain Enterprise, and told them he was retired.

"It really hasn't sunk in, but I know that I won't have to get out there and work," he said.

"As hard as he's been working for 21 years ... if anyone deserves it, he does," his wife said.

When asked how his life would change, Harris told the Journal-Constitution: " I used to live in a trailer. And I used to be an iron worker."

In addition to the grand prize winner, 36 players - including six Californians - matched all five numbers but not the Mega Ball number. They will receive second prizes of $250,000 each.

Another 207 players matched four numbers, plus the Mega Ball number. Those are good for third prizes of $10,000 each.

The jackpot slips back to $12 million for Tuesday's drawing.

Ohio Player Wins $314,300,000!

"It can happen to anybody. If I can win, anybody can win," said David Coterel of Riverside, Ohio. Mr. Coterel made a special trip into Indiana to purchase $10 worth of Powerball tickets for the Saturday, August 25th drawing and won the 4th largest Powerball jackpot in history. The jackpot-winning ticket was purchased at the Speedway in Richmond, Indiana.

Mr. Coterel, a retired auto worker, and his two adult children claimed the $314 million jackpot and decided to take the cash option. They will collect $145,985,099 before taxes. David Coterel, Jr. and his sister Lynn Hiles quit their jobs and plan on purchasing new cars while Mr. Coterel, Sr. plans to enjoy watching his children live out their dreams.

Lotto woman enjoys multi-million 'wee win'

WINNING TICKET

August 16, 2007

A BRITISH woman was yesterday left speechless after learning she had scooped the EuroMillions lottery jackpot of £35.4 million ($85.88 million).

"I couldn't really say anything. I just pushed my head back then put my head down. I was so flabbergasted," said Angela Kelly, 40, recounting the moment that she checked her ticket at work on Monday.

Postal worker wins

The postal worker, from East Kilbride, near the western Scottish city of Glasgow, said her hands were shaking as she got work colleagues to double check whether she had not made a mistake.

She then told her son John, 14, by telephone: "We've had a wee win in the lottery."

The windfall - still only the ninth-biggest payout won by a single person in the nine-country lottery that has been operating since 2004 - catapults Kelly to top of Britain's rich list of individual lottery winners.

The £35,425,412 jackpot means that she will earn her current wage of £21,000 ($50,972) per year every week after tax, said a spokeswoman for Camelot, which operates the British arm of the European lottery.

Kelly, who told a news conference that the win had not yet sunk in, bought a lucky dip ticket for £1 50 pence ($3.63) for Friday's draw at a supermarket near her home.

Has not decided on spending

She told reporters she had not decided how to spend the cash although her teenage son had already begun compiling a growing list of computer games and equipment.

But she said she may buy a new car and was planning to upgrade her airline ticket to first class when she visits relatives in Canada.

She said she had also had her first nail manicure and was pondering donations to a number of charities.

Kelly, who has worked at the same mail centre since she was 16, has been separated from her husband Gerry, also a Royal Mail worker, for eight years.

She said their split had been amicable and he was "over the moon" at her win.

'Happy' to give away money

There had been no discussion whether she would give him a share of the winnings, but she said she was "happy" to give him some of the money.

The previous British individual lottery win record holder was Marion Richardson, from Gateshead, north-east England, who won £16.7 million ($40.52 million) on the EuroMillions draw in April 2004.

The biggest EuroMillions jackpot to date was £77 million ($186.88 million), which was won by mother-of-six Dolores McNamara, of Limerick, Ireland, in July 2005.

Oklahoma Couple Claims $105.8 Million Powerball Jackpot!

His truck broke down the morning he and his wife of 20 years discovered they had won a $105.8 million Powerball jackpot of June 27th. Don Harvey and Joyce Harvey of Muldrow, Oklahoma, arrived at the Oklahoma Lottery Commission just before noon on Friday, June 29th to claim their prize. The Harvey 's elected to take the "lump sum" cash option of $46,837,771, rather than the larger 29-year, 30-installment annuity.

Aa trucker since the age of 17, Don says he will buy a used truck with some of the winnings. When asked why he wouldn't buy a new truck, he said because a used truck doesn't immediately depreciate in value. They plan to share the money with family and pay bills.

Joyce Harvey, who works with her husband as a dispatcher, said they played Powerball for years in other states before Oklahoma made the game available. She said they plan to continue playing the lottery because it benefits education in Oklahoma.

South Carolina Group Claims $1 Million Power Play Prize!

"Pay me the MONEY!" is what the group of Upstate dispatchers chanted at the South Carolina Education Lottery's
(SCEL) Columbia Claims Center late Thursday, June 8. Four of the 10-member group drove down from the Upstate
to claim their share of the $1 million match five Power Play win in the Wednesday, June 7, Powerball® drawing.
The group of ten pitches-in a few dollars on occasion to vie for the big jackpot. "Everybody picks their own numbers except for one person," said Thomas Whitt, of Spartanburg. "She does the quick pick."
The white numbers for that Powerball® drawing were: 4, 10, 20, 26, and 40. The Powerball® was 8 and the PowerPlay® number was 5. To win the match 5 cash prize of $200,000, a player must match all five white balls. The group paid the extra dollar for the PowerPlay® option, which multiplies any non-jackpot prize by the number selected from 2-5 . Because the PowerPlay® number drawn was 5, their $200,000 prize became $1 million.
Out of all of the numbers the group selected, Whitt's numbers won. "I just use the interstate numbers," he said. "I guess all my life anytime I needed to pick numbers, I would use the interstate numbers. And it seems like they do come up a lot."
The four group members stated they will use their winnings to pay off some bills.

Group of 13 Share $224.2 Million Jackpot!

A group of 13 Missouri state employees, who work for the Department of Social Services Family Support Division/Child Support Enforcement in Florissant, Missouri, have claimed the $224.2 million Powerball jackpot from the April 12 drawing. The jackpot is the largest prize ever won in the Missouri Lottery's 20-year history and the seventh largest Powerball jackpot ever won since the game's beginning.

Eleven of the members put $5 into the pool and two members contributed $2.50. The jackpot prize will be split 12 ways. All of the members plan to take the cash amount, which works out to be approximately $8.5 million each before taxes for the 11 members who contributed $5 and approximately $4.2 million before taxes for the two members who contributed $2.50.

The winners report that new groups are formed for drawings depending on who would like to play, and employees take turns buying the tickets.

Coworkers Claim $365 Million Powerball Jackpot!

February 22, 2006 - A group of eight coworkers at the ConAgra Foods plant in Lincoln,
Neb., has claimed the record $365 million jackpot from the Feb. 18 Powerball drawing.

The group elected to take the cash option on the jackpot, valued at $177.3 million. Their respective shares will be $22,162,500. After withholding of 25 percent federal and 5 percent state tax, they will share $124.11 million or $15.5 million, respectively.

Before presenting the group with their prize, Gov. Dave Heineman noted the attention generated by the
record jackpot and said, Since its inception, the Nebraska Lottery has quietly raised more than $244 million
for its beneficiary funds like K-12 education.

"I am pleased to have an opportunity to meet this lucky group of hard-working Nebraskans and present them with their share of these winnings" ...

"Ladies and gentlemen, life just got a bit more interesting for eight Nebraskans."

The group bought their winning ticket, one of eight (8) five-play quick pick tickets worth a total of $40, at U-Stop at 110 West "O" St., in Lincoln, at 3:09 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 17.

Members of the group told Nebraska Lottery officials that some of them have been playing Powerball for up to five years, pooling their resources to buy multiple tickets whenever the jackpot eclipses $45 million. Each has contributed $5 at a time to buy a total of eight five-play quick pick tickets for each drawing. They noted the irony of waiting to play when their respective shares of the prize after taxes will be just more than $15 million, which is the minimum starting jackpot for Powerball.

Dung Tran typically bought the group's tickets, usually at the same location. He learned of their winning ticket by checking the Nebraska Lottery Players Hotline (800-224-LUCK) at about 4:30 a.m. the morning after the drawing. The winning Powerball numbers for February 18 were: 15, 17, 43, 44, 48 and Powerball 29.

While none of the group has formulated specific plans for their prize, potential actions mentioned to Nebraska Lottery officials included, "Wash my truck," "Pay bills", "Get some sleep," and, "Continue working temporarily" until their spot is filled.

European Lottery's $222 Million Cash Prize Held by 3 Tickets

Paris, France (AHN) -
Three winning ticket-holders will share
the 126 million British pounds -
the top prize in EuroMillions,
the lottery held in nine European countries. The winners will split the equivalent of $222 million.
Two of the winning tickets were purchased in France and one in Portugal, according to the lottery operator. The winning numbers were 9, 21, 30, 39, 50 and the Lucky Stars numbers were 1 and 3. The jackpot in Friday's drawing swelled after no winners emerged from any lottery since Nov.11.
The possible payoff lured would-be millionaires from across the region.

EuroMillions was created two years ago by the lotteries of France, the U.K. and Spain to increase revenue by creating bigger paydays. Revenue at the three companies that run the service has risen during the past two years, and the growth prompted Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland and Portugal to join the game in October 2004.

In most European countries, unlike the U.S., winnings aren't subject to income tax and the money is paid out immediately once the winning ticket is validated.

Powerball Pays Big - $113.2 Million Jackpot Won in Iowa!

A Des Moines, Iowa, man started off the New Year with a bang - claiming a $113.2 million Powerball jackpot from the December 14th, 2005, drawing. Hugh Hawkins said he waited for a few weeks after his big win to claim the prize so that he could enjoy the holidays with his family, make plans for what he wanted to do with the money, and identify charities that he could help. Hawkins, 44, was accompanied to the lottery as he claimed his prize by his wife, Cindy, and their children. Hugh chose his winning numbers himself and provided this explanation:

8 is one of his favorite numbers.

15 was the number on his brother's dirt-racing motorcycle when they were young.

16 is the date of his wife's birthday.

45 is the age he will be on his next birthday in March.

51 is a number he randomly chose between 45 and 55, the highest number in the Powerball game.

11 is the date of his oldest son's birthday.

He chose to receive his prize in a lump-sum payment of $54,799,833.72.

7 Share Mega Millions Jackpot in Calif.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - A secretary and six laboratory workers at Kaiser Permanente held the winning ticket for the $315 million Mega Millions jackpot - but they still came into work, a company spokeswoman said.

The jackpot was the third-richest prize won with a single ticket in the history of lotteries in the United States.

The winners, who each chipped in $3 for the ticket, came into work Wednesday at the medical center in Garden Grove anyway, said Kaiser spokeswoman Barbara Shipnuck.

"They bought the entire staff lunch to celebrate," said Shipnuck. "For now, they all prefer to stay anonymous."

The ticket was bought at Rainbow Water, Juice, Flower & Gift, not far from Disneyland, where the owners will receive $1 million.

Owners Guadalupe and Jose Cordova, both 53, were considering selling the store a couple of years ago but changed their minds, said their daughter, Raquel Cordova.

The couple, who immigrated to the United States from Mexico as teenagers, decided to take Wednesday off and let their kids work.

"Mom's gonna take a long vacation ... she's here seven days a week, even on Sundays," Raquel Cordova said.

Last month in Oregon, a family claimed the largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history won by a single ticket, $340 million. The numbers were drawn Oct. 19 in the other big multistate lottery, Powerball. Until then, the richest undivided lottery jackpot in U.S. history was the $314.9 million Powerball jackpot won by a West Virginia man on Christmas Day 2002.

In addition to California, Mega Millions is played in Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington.

Another USA Powerball $1 Million Power Play Prize Won!

Saturday's Powerball drawing (October 1st) proved very lucrative for two
friends from Tennessee.

Janis Goodwin, of Nashville, and Frances Davenport, of Woodbury (just outside of Murfreesboro),
were elated on Monday morning when they arrived at the Tennessee Lottery's Nashville headquarters
to collect their prize.

CEO and President Rebecca Paul was on hand to share in the excitement. By using the Power
Play option, their second-tier prize was multiplied from $200,000 to $1 million since
the multiplier was five. With Power Play you multiply your Powerball winnings 2-5 times,
except for the jackpot.

At the beginning of each drawing a wheel is spun to select that night's
multiplier.

Mega Millions jackpot of $258 million claimed

September 22, 2005

Officials with the New Jersey Lottery announced Wednesday that a person purported to be a legal representative for the winner of a massive Mega Millions drawing has come forward.

Besides being New Jersey's largest single-ticket jackpot, the award is also the fifth-largest lottery jackpot ever awarded in the United States, lottery officials said.

Lottery officials said they were trying to verify the ticket's authenticity.

They also announced that the jackpot, originally believed to be worth $250 million, was actually valued at $258 million because ticket sales before the drawing Friday were larger than expected.

On Monday, Michellene Davis, executive director of the New Jersey Lottery, advised the holder to sign the ticket and contact lottery officials.

She said the ticket could be cashed in for a lump sum of $151.3 million or taken in annual installments of $9.6 million for 25 years.

The winning numbers were 5, 16, 41, 46 and 50. The Gold Mega Ball was 1.

Frenchman and son scoop $93 million lottery jackpot

PARIS - A jobless 55-year-old Frenchman and one of his seven children shared a prize of 75.88 million euros ($92.80 million) on Saturday after selecting combinations of the family's ages in the multi-nation Euro Millions lottery.

The French lottery firm said the winning ticket in Friday's draw was bought in 'Cafe de l'Arrivee' - the Arrival Pub - at Franconville-la-Garenne in Val d'Oise, not far from Paris.

French television showed one of the winner's sons arriving at the cafe on Saturday to celebrate and talk to reporters. The record jackpot in the lottery was 115.4 million euros won in July in Ireland.

This week's winning numbers were 12, 13, 19, 21 and 38 on the main board,

$93.4M USA Powerball Winner Comes Forward!

August 10, 2005 New Mexico - Albuquerque, NM - A master sergeant assigned to the 58th Training Squadron at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque has claimed a $93.4 million Powerball jackpot. John San Cartier correctly matched all six numbers drawn on August 10. It was the New Mexico Lottery's third Powerball jackpot, the second-largest prize in the state, and the largest claimed by an individual. The winning numbers were 13-31-36-38-49 and the Powerball was 2.

San Cartier chose the $52.2 million lump-sum option. After federal withholding taxes of 25 percent and state withholding taxes of six percent, he will receive a one-time wire transfer of approximately $36 million.

Following Lottery recommendations, the special operations instructor loadmaster sought legal and financial advice before claiming his prize.

He bought his winning "quick pick" ticket at Raley's Superstore #805 at 6200 Coors NW in Albuquerque. His shopping list at the market was short: a jug of milk and a quick pick ticket.

"I was taking my daughter to school on my way to work the next day,"
San Cartier said. "I heard on the radio that someone won. I went home in the afternoon and checked on-line. I started shaking and called my wife. She said, 'No way!'"

San Cartier checked his winning numbers on-line at the Powerball and New Mexico Lottery websites, and then started checking various local news stories. He finally went back to Raley's and picked up a print-out of the winning ticket, never indicating the reasons for his interest.

The same Raley's store previously sold three large winning Scratchers and a 4 This Way! top prize valued at $1,000 to $4,000. The store also sold a $50,000 winning Scratcher under previous ownership.

San Cartier has been in the service for 15 ½ years. September 5 marks his third anniversary at Kirtland.

The New Mexico Lottery joined the Powerball group in October 1996, and is one of 27 participating states plus the District of Columbia and US Virgin Islands. In addition to the 162 (cq) $100,000 to $500,000 winners in New Mexico (five winning numbers but no Powerball), there have been about 825 (cq) $5,000 to $25,000 third prize (four winning numbers plus the Powerball).

The New Mexico Lottery has already raised more than $250 million for public education, including more than $182 million for the Lottery Success Scholarship program. Well over 35,000 students so far have received their in-state college tuition paid by the Lottery Success Scholarship, with an updated student count pending.

The legendary luck of the Irish was true for once when a local lottery player scooped a record jackpot of more than
€115-million (R916-million), the Irish national lottery said on Saturday.

The winner, whose name was not officially released, won the fortune in the Euro Millions lottery as the only player who picked the five winning numbers and ticked off the two "star" numbers, lottery officials said.

The jackpot had not been won since May and had been rolled over nine times before Friday night's draw. The winning numbers were three, 19, 26, 49, and 50, and the lucky stars were four and five.

RTE state radio named the winner as Dolores McNamara, from Gallyowen, Limerick, in the south-west of the country.

McNamara has five children, of whom the youngest two still live at the family home.

Her youngest son (13) cycled around telling excited friends he would like to buy a horse and go on holiday, the website said.

It said McNamara was in a bar in Limerick on Friday night when she checked her ticket to find she had drawn the winning numbers.

Barman Tom Purcell said when the numbers were confirmed, McNamara showed the winning ticket to everybody and champagne was brought out for a big party.

"It was great craic [festivity]. It was all family. All her family are regulars here," he said, according to Ireland Online.

Jack Greer, who said he was with her at the time, told the radio station that she went straight to the police to ask them to take care of her ticket, then phoned her bank manager, who responded with haste.

"She went up to the garda [Irish police] station for them to look after it. They said they couldn't take responsibility for it, so they phoned her bank manager," he said.

"He came down to the garda station and picked her up and took her to the bank and put it in the vault."

The Irish player's jackpot was exactly €115 436 126, beating the previous Euro Millions record in April when a player in Switzerland won €64 040 749.

The National Lottery office in Dublin is closed because of a bank holiday weekend, so McNamara will be unable to claim her prize before Tuesday.

The win would instantly place McNamara comfortably in the top 80 richest people in Ireland on the 2004 Rich List, published annually by Britain's Sunday Times newspaper.

However, she would be a long way behind top-20 material such as rock band U2, Lord of the Dance Michael Flatley and Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary.

The first European lottery, Euro Millions was launched in February last year by France, Spain and Britain, while Luxembourg, Belgium, Switzerland, Portugal, Ireland and Austria joined a few months later.

The National Lottery operates Euro Millions in Ireland.

How an Overseas Subscriber Agents Player from Switzerland
won UK$16.6 Million in the UK National Lotto
as reported in the UK Sunday Times April, 24 2005

Not all the UK newspapers liked the
idea of a foreigner winning the 6th
largest UK Lotto Jackpot in history --
- and taking all that money out of the
country --- but it was done in a completely
legitimate way.

OSA purchased the winning entry
on our Swiss player's behalf and
sent his £16.6 Million winnings to
his secret Lichtenstein bank
account.

You too can win a huge
Jackpot in another country's
National Lotto ---with the help of
Overseas Subscribers Agents.

Close-Knit Family Will Keep Working, "But We'll Take a Few More Vacations!"

NASHVILLE - For the Hubbard family of South Pittsburg , Tenn. , March 30-along with six certain numbers-will forever be etched in their minds. The family, who owns Hub City Automotive Parts, learned this morning that they were the first Tennessee Lottery players to win the Powerball jackpot prize, estimated for last night's drawing at $25.5 million.

"I screamed," said Bobbi Hubbard, 41. "Then I yelled to my husband and everyone in the store that we had won the Powerball." Bobbi's husband, Richie, 51, said she "fell on the floor" and he had to literally pick her up. "This is it, this is it!" they screamed.

Bobbi and Richie, along with sons Brian and Brent, and their wives Stacey and Angel, spent the afternoon at the Tennessee Lottery headquarters in Nashville to claim their monumental prize and share their excitement. In addition to the jackpot prize, the Hubbards received a $25,000 retailer bonus for selling the winning ticket, as their store is also a Lottery retail outlet. Bobbi purchased the advance-draw ticket for 10 drawings beginning with the March 2 drawing. She chose the Quick Pick option, in which a computer generates the series of numbers for each play.

"We'll keep working ... some," said Brian. "But we'll take a few more vacations!" The family, who hasn't decided if they will take a lump-sum payment or the annuity payment plan, isn't worried about dividing the money among themselves or that it will impact their long-standing camaraderie. "We're a close-knit family and always have been," said Bobbi. In addition to the comment about vacations, the Hubbards will pay bills, continue to grow their business, and "do some good with it," said Bobbi.

"The only thing more exciting than our first multi-million dollar winner is raising over $246 million for education, which is what we've done in just over a year with help from players and retailers such as the Hubbards," said Rebecca Paul, CEO and President of the Tennessee Lottery, after an afternoon press conference.

In addition to the Hubbards' win, another 12 players matched five of five numbers correctly; five of them will win $500,000 each since they used the Power Play option, while the other seven will win $100,000 each. Four of those players arrived at the Lottery's headquarters today to claim their prizes, including:

$500,000 winner James Currie of Jackson

$100,000 winner Matthew Holloman of Nashville

$100,000 winner Alan Cunningham of Knoxville

$100,000 winner Anthony Broughton of Nashville .

The total in prizes from last night's Powerball drawing for Tennessee players is $28,876,708.

22 YEAR-OLD IDAHO MAN WINS US$18.7 MILLION

February 23, 2005 - Idaho

BOISE - Eric Kyle woke up this morning to the noon news broadcast saying someone in
Boise won $18.7 million on a Powerball ticket at Big Smoke. Eric woke up his roommate and screamed "I won the Lottery!" Though his roommate thought it was a joke earlier, once in the Idaho Lottery offices everyone knew it was the truth.

The 22-year-old manager of Boise's Copper Kitchen has 60 days to decide if he wants to take the 29-year (30 payment) annuity option or the lump sum cash option, which would yield $10,397,024.

Kyle matched all 5 white numbers and the red Powerball number to win the top prize. The winning numbers were 4, 10, 15, 48, 51 and the Powerball was 13.

US$26.4 MILLION USA POWERBALL WINNERS

January 22, 2005 - Pennsylvania

HARRISBURG: Governor Edward G. Rendell today presented a
ceremonial check for $14,734,333.80, less 25 percent federal withholding,
to Kathleen Fitzgerald, Karen Rodgers, and Janet Bigler, holders of the single
winning ticket for the Jan. 22 Powerball® drawing. The jackpot had an annuity
value of $26.4 million.

"In this case, not only did the Lottery proceeds from this Powerball® jackpot benefit older Pennsylvanians, but so did the prize," Governor Rendell said. "By playing the Lottery, these very lucky ladies contributed to the many programs that help our older citizens with prescription drugs, property tax and rent rebates as well as free or reduced fare transit."

The friends' sole jackpot-winning ticket matched all five white balls, 11-23-32-33-34, and the red Powerball®, 38, in the Jan. 22, 2005, drawing. The jackpot-winning Powerball® ticket was the third winning Powerball® jackpot ticket sold in Pennsylvania in six weeks and the eighth winning Powerball® jackpot ticket sold in Pennsylvania since the Lottery joined the multi-jurisdictional game in June 2002. Winning tickets also were sold in Pennsylvania for the Dec. 8 and 22, 2004 drawings.

The friends presented the winning ticket at Lottery Headquarters in Middletown, Dauphin County earlier today, after consulting with legal and financial counsel. After examining the ticket and executing other proprietary security measures, Lottery officials confirmed that it was the winning ticket.

Joining Governor Rendell and the winners at the presentation were Secretary of Aging Dowd Eisenhower, Secretary of Revenue Gregory C. Fajt and Edward Mahlman, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Lottery.

"The sales leading up to the Jan 22 drawing generated about $2.2 million for programs benefiting older Pennsylvanians, including the low-cost prescription drug programs PACE and PACENET, property tax and rent rebates, free and reduced-fare transit rides, hot meals and services at senior centers across the state," said Mahlman.

More than $6.6 million worth of Powerball® and PowerPlay® tickets were sold in Pennsylvania for the four-draw run leading up to the Jan. 22 jackpot. Two match-five Powerball tickets were also sold in Pennsylvania for the Jan. 22 drawing worth $400,000 each; the respective ticket-holders purchased the PowerPlay option.

The winning quick-pick ticket was purchased at Nielsen's, a newsstand and convenience store located at 2 PNC Plaza, 620 Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh. Nielsen's, owned by Howard Rosenberg and Jack Trombley, and managed by Robert Fulton, will receive a $100,000 bonus for selling Saturday's winning jackpot ticket. There are three Nielsen's stores in Pennsylvania and 17 locations in Ohio.

Photo by Matt Hankins

$112 MILLION LOTTERY TICKET SOLD IN TEXAS

A single player has won the grand prize from the latest Mega Millions lotto drawing with a ticket bought in the Dallas suburb of Rowlett.

Lottery officials said the winning ticket from Tuesday night's drawing - worth $112 million - was sold at the Dal-Rock Grocery.

Store owner John Kamali said Wednesday that he was preparing to go open his other store when one of his employees called with the word. That was just the first of a cascade of phone calls about the drawing.
"I feel great," Kamali said. "It was the best news all this year and last year. It was very good news. I'm very excited."

He said he does not know who bought the winning ticket, but he does know that his store receives a bonus of $1.12 million - 1 percent of the jackpot.
That was also good news to assistant store manager Phillip Marks. "It has been ecstatic here all morning long," he said. "We're just hoping the winner will come in and identify themselves."

The winning numbers from Tuesday night's drawing were: 1, 8, 18, 39 and 48. The Mega Ball number was 1.
This is the second time a ticket bought in Texas has won the Mega Millions jackpot. Both were sold in the Dallas area.

In October, Ut Van Nguyen of Carrollton won $62 million on the cash-value option from a $101 million jackpot.
Besides the grand prize winner, eight players matched all five numbers but not the Mega Ball number. They will receive second prizes of $175,000 each.

Another 56 players matched four numbers, plus the Mega Ball number - good for third prizes of $5,000 each.
While he was happy for his store's good fortune, Marks said it could have been even better for him. "I bought three tickets and was hoping they'd win, but unfortunately, I didn't win."

NEW YORK MAN WINS $149 MILLION MEGA JACKPOT

Like most parking lot attendants, Juan Rodriguez knows how tantalizing and frustrating it can be to drive a luxury car, only to have to surrender it all too quickly for a pair of crumpled dollars.

But now, after 20 years of anonymous toil for a legion of well-heeled motorists near the United Nations, the Colombian-born Ozone Park resident can sit in his own heated leather seat.
Sunday, New York Lottery authorities declared him the winner of the largest jackpot ever won in the state, $149 million. The chances of winning the Mega Millions jackpot were 135 million to one.

"I want to say thank God! I love him," Rodriguez, 49, said, shy and visibly nervous behind a pair of blue-framed sunglasses before a bank of a dozen television cameras outside the Turtle Bay convenience store where he bought the ticket Friday.
The money couldn't have come at a better time. Two days before he bought the ticket, a mound of credit card debt prompted him to declare bankruptcy. Also, his first grandchild is due in February.
"His money was not enough," said his brother-in-law, Dennis Herrera. "He said, 'Brother, I don't have money to pay the rent.'"

Friday, Rodriguez bought a Quick Pick ticket at S& N News on Second Avenue between 48th and 49th streets, two doors down from the parking lot.
The next morning, he learned the store had sold the lucky ticket. He showed his stub to the clerk, who told Rodriguez that he was rich, rich enough to own a few of those BMWs he's parked.
"He said 'Don't play with me,'" the clerk, Nayeem Khaja, recalled Sunday. "I said, 'No, I'm not playing you. You're the sole winner.'"

After finding out that he had won the lottery, Rodriguez called his wife, Iris, a former home health care aide, and daughter, Katty, 17, a psychology student at Touro College who is the couple's only child.
Rodriguez, who hasn't yet quit his job, opted to take a lump payment of $88.5 million before taxes. Aside from the Volvo, and maybe a Jaguar for Iris, the family said they're keen for their own house and a vacation in Orlando, where they have relatives.

Katty's unborn child, a girl, also is expected to benefit from the windfall.
"I can take her to a good high school," Katty Rodriguez said. "She could go to a good college. I could give her the things that I never had."

HUGE MEGA MILLIONS WINNER - BUT NO ONE HAS CLAIMED THE PRIZE!

Jackpot Winner! There was one $149 million jackpot winner from New York in the Friday,
November 19, 2004 Mega Millions drawing. More details to follow after the winner comes
forward to claim their prize.

Also, 13 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $175,000 prize: 1 from Georgia,
2 from Illinois, 1 from Massachusetts, 1 from Maryland, 3 from Michigan, 2 from New Jersey,
1 from New York, 1 from Ohio and 1 from Virginia. For the complete rundown of winners by prize
category, see the Ways to Win page.

Check Your Tickets NOW - You Could be the lucky winner!

NEW YORK MAN CLAIMS $3 MILLION LOTTERY PRIZE

Wouldn't it be great if one day you found out you were a millionaire and you had no clue? That's what happened to one Rochester man after he won more than a million bucks.

"The next day I went to the store and the girl was like you win the lotto last night how you know. Let me see your ticket, so I showed her the ticket to find out if I had the winning number. Yup didn't know I won," said Willie Alston.

Alston got the luck of the draw. He paid for one lottery ticket, but the machine ended up giving him two. The store clerk told Alston to keep both tickets and one turned out very lucky. $3 million lucky in the New York State Lottery.

Alston took the lump sum and now gets $1.5 million.

MISSOURI MAN COLLECTS $1.7 MILLION JACKPOT

Save one person, a retired southwest Missouri man doesn't plan to shower friends or family members with gifts after winning a $1.7 million Missouri Lotto jackpot.

"My family and friends haven't nurtured any sort of relationship with me," said Bill Michael, 66, of Carthage, "and, in my best Jack Nicholson voice, 'What do you think of me now?'"

Michael, who is a retired laborer at a plant nursery, came forward Wednesday to collect his $1.7 million Missouri Lotto jackpot.

He purchased his ticket at Discount Smokes in Carthage, where he usually stops on Wednesdays and Saturdays to buy $5 worth of tickets. The store will receive $17,000 for the sale.

$214.7 MILLION POWERBALL JACKPOT CLAIMED BY GROUP OF CO-WORKERS FROM SEAFORD, DELAWARE

Dover, October 12, 2004-A group of 33 employees who work for a printing company in Seaford, Delaware today presented the winning ticket for the Saturday, October 9th POWERBALL® drawing and claimed the $214.7 million jackpot.

The winning employees have opted to remain anonymous and have selected the cash single payment value for the jackpot, which totals $116.9 million before federal withholding taxes. Each of the 33 winners will receive a payment of $2,657,754, which represents their share of the jackpot after federal taxes. The winning ticket was validated by Delaware Lottery officials late this afternoon.

One of the winning players told officials they checked the Delaware Lottery web site on Sunday morning following the previous night's drawing and realized they had the winning ticket, which was purchased at the Uncle Willie's convenience store, 50 S. Market Street, in Blades, Delaware.

The spokesperson for the group said they are regular players of the POWERBALL® game, especially when the jackpot is large. Several representatives of the group spoke of using their winnings to pay for college tuition and other future family expenses.

The October 9th POWERBALL® jackpot was the sixth largest ever awarded and was the second time this year the jackpot reached the $200 million level.

Since the start of operations in 1975, the Delaware Lottery has contributed more than $1.8 billion to the state's General Fund to help finance needed state services that benefit everyone in Delaware. The Lottery offers a variety of games: POWERBALL® , LOTTO, PLAY 3, PLAY 4, and assorted Instant Games.

80 YEAR OLD CLAIMS A PIECE OF US$100 MILLION CALI JACKPOT

Walter F. Tracey slept in until about 1 p.m. Sunday, then got a surprising jolt. The 80-year-old World War II Navy pilot checked the newspaper, and there it was in black and white: He had the winning numbers for the US$100 million California SuperLotto Plus Jackpot.

About two hours later, when with the help of a cane he walked into J.P. Liquors in Los Altos, he learned he was one of three Jackpot winners. He would receive US$33.3 million, minus taxes, and the fortunes of his large family would change.

"I haven't gotten a whoop or holler out of him yet," said his smiling son Paul Tracey, 41, who lives with his father in Los Altos Hills.

After having several strokes since 1989, Walter Tracey said he doesn't feel or show much emotion. But sitting in a chair in his living room later, mulling over his good fortune, he gave up a small smile and admitted, "I am very happy."

US$294 MILLION MEGA MILLIONS WINNER TRIES TO LAY LOW

A day after bagging a US$294 million lottery Jackpot, Geraldine Williams
battled to get her bearings yesterday as she went from housemaid to
multimillionaire retiree overnight.

Williams' ex-hubby said the 67-year-old grandmother and her children are
worn
out by the whirlwind of public interest whipped up in the hours after
Williams stepped forward to claim her prize.

"They're trying to cope with something that's unimaginable," said James Williams, who split from his now-millionaire ex-wife in 1979. "(Geraldine) doesn't want to be around anybody right now."

After keeping silent during a week of speculation, Williams and several
relatives drove to Lottery headquarters Friday in a fleet of white limos to
accept a US$294 million check.

The was one winning ticket sold for Friday's record $290 million Mega Millions jackpot.
The winning ticket was sold in Lowell, Massachusetts.

The $290 million jackpot is an estimated amount that is expected to increase after the eleven Mega Millions states complete their count of actual ticket sales.

In Massachusetts, jackpot winners have up to one year to claim their prize, and the jackpot must be claimed in person at lottery headquarters in Braintree.

The winner can take the annuity jackpot in 26 annual payments, or a single lump-sum payment estimated at $169 million.
The winner will have 25% federal tax, plus 5% Massachusetts state tax, withheld from their prize payment.

8TH MAY 2004 - MASSIVE $213.2 MILLION POWERBALL TICKET SOLD

Working at the convenience store where a $213.2 million Powerball ticket was sold -- the largest jackpot prize in Pennsylvania lottery history -- had Bo Ridgeway waxing philosophical yesterday.

"It's really something if you think about it. Fantasy and myth far outweigh rational thinking," the Cumberland Farms clerk said. "People come into the store thinking they're going to win. Just like that person. It came to fruition for one person."

That person, who has not come forward yet, purchased the ticket for the Saturday drawing from the convenience store on Route 532 in Washington Crossing, Bucks County. It's near the spot where George Washington crossed the Delaware River in 1776.

Store manager Randy Boldizar said the buyer could be from the area, or the winner could be one of the many who come from New Jersey to buy tickets. Or it could have been an out-of-towner who stopped in after a visit to the historic site.

Maryland State Lottery officials said Friday that the winners of a $109 million Mega Millions jackpot have come forward.

State Lottery spokesman Jimmy White wouldn't identify the winners, except to say they are from Montgomery County. The winning ticket, drawn April 9, was sold at a Kensington store.

Lottery officials validated the winning ticket Friday. White said the winners will likely reveal themselves at a news conference next week.

1ST APRIL 2004 - MEGA MILLIONS JACKPOT WINNER COMES FORWARD

Retired truck driver J.R. Triplett is on Easy Street: He stepped forward Thursday to claim a $239 million lottery prize, the second-biggest undivided jackpot in U.S. history.

Twirling a toothpick in his mouth and holding his wife's hand, Triplett said the prize was "no big thing to me" and gave assurances he would spend it wisely. His wife, Peggy, vowed to "shop till I drop."

Triplett, a regular lottery player, said the ticket was one of five he bought at a convenience store not far from his Winchester home - the Red Apple Country Store in Stephens City, about 80 miles west of Washington, D.C.

He said he had never been in the store before, but went in on the afternoon of the drawing and bought five tickets.

"If I'd just spent $1 that day, I would have won it. I wasted $4. It was on the top line," he said.

J.R. Triplett said that he knew when he heard the numbers being read on television that he had gotten close but it wasn't until he saw them in print that he knew he had the winning ticket. He gave his wife the news.

"I said, 'sweetheart, we got that number.' She sort of broke down, got on her knees and said a little prayer," he said. "It didn't excite me too much and to be honest, to this day it doesn't excite me too much."

The couple said they believe their faith played a role in the win.

"Thank you God. It's truly a gift from you," Peggy Triplett said.

Asked how he was going to spend the money, J.R. Triplett said one of the first purchases was going to be a headstone for a poor childhood friend who died 25 years ago.

Triplett said he waited more than a month before claiming his winnings so he could talk to a lawyer and "get everything straight."
The Tripletts, who declined to give their ages, have two children and two grandchildren.
At a news conference with his wife, Triplett said that he had no big plans for the jackpot but that he wants to put his money in real estate, "because they don't make no more dirt, you know."

Triplett said he has already bought a headstone for a friend's grave and plans to donate to two churches. But he and his wife of 35 years plan to have some fun with the money, too.

"Sweetheart and I might get lost for a couple of days," he said.

The odds of winning were 1 in more than 135 million.

The Tripletts took their winnings in a pre-tax lump sum of $141.5 million, instead of $239 million in 26 annual installments.

The biggest single-ticket jackpot in U.S. history is $314.9 million, won by Jack Whittaker of Scott Depot, W.Va., in a Powerball drawing on Christmas 2002. Three winners shared a $331 million jackpot in 2000.

In the case of the Mega Millions jackpot, the nearly six-week delay in claiming the prize led to speculation that the ticket had been lost or discarded.